Ballfield for special needs to become a reality in Hattiesburg

A ball field that can accommodate people with special needs will be built in Hattiesburg, thanks to one Leadership Pinebelt group's efforts to get the project off the ground.
Lici Beveridge/Hattiesburg American

One group of young professionals are stepping up to home plate — and hitting a home run — to bring an all-inclusive ballfield to Hattiesburg.

Seven Leadership Pinebelt members are working to bring a Miracle League field to the Hub City so children and adults with special needs can compete in athletics.

Amanda Winchester and Brittany Lewis spearheaded the team effort, which is expected to become a reality some time in the next three to five years.

"We chose to do the Miracle League project based on the needs presentation given to us by Freddie Triplett and Ann Jones," she said. "We worked closely with Freddie Triplett to form a board of directors."

The board of directors, which will include a few members of the Leadership Pinebelt team, will pick up where the group left off and see the project through to completion.

Miracle League(Photo: Special to the American)

"This will be citywide, countywide partnership," Winchester said.

The Leadership Pinebelt group set some goals, including setting up a 501c3 status that will allow the league to qualify for tax-exempt status. The team also has been working to raise awareness of the league and set the stage to raise the $1 million to $1.25 million needed to complete the field.

The Miracle League of Greater Hattiesburg field will be located at Larry Doleac Youth Baseball Complex. Land for the field has already been designated.

"The Miracle League in general is just so inspiring," Winchester said. "There are so many citizens in this community that will benefit from it."

The rest of the Leadership Pinebelt team includes Justin Hill, Lakeisha Bryant-Hall, Kyle Hopkins, Ken Crumpton and David Roberts.

Forrest County Board of Supervisors President David Hogan said he is impressed with what this Leadership Pinebelt class has accomplished.

"The Area Development Partnership takes these young leaders and helps them fine-tune their leadership skills," he said. "I'm impressed with their work for the special needs community — the field is designed to be safe for them to participate in baseball and other sports."

Each of the supervisors has committed to contributing $1,000 from funds in their respective districts' recreation budgets for the Miracle League field.

"It sounds like the community and the private business sector is behind them," Hogan said. "The board will also be supportive of their endeavors. We are proud they have taken on such an endeavor.

"Even when their leadership class has graduated, they will be carrying the torch forward to see this project to the finish line. We couldn't be more impressed with our young leaders."

For some on the Leadership Pinebelt team, having an inclusive ballfield is also personal.

"Each of us in the group has either a family member or somebody affiliated with us who is physically or mentally challenged," Bryant-Hall said. "My elder sister has spina bifida. We missed out on a lot of opportunities."

She said the team did some research and found a Miracle League field in McComb. They talked to the director there to get information on how to get the Hattiesburg field up and running.

Plans for the field were drawn up and a presentation created to drum up support.

"There were none here in the Greater Pine Belt area," Bryant-Hall said. "That's what made us get on board.

"Our three goals were securing the plans, creating a board of directors and getting the 501c3 status. By the time we graduate Oct. 3, we will have accomplished the three tasks we set out to do."

Bryant-Hall said the board of directors will be announced at the Leadership Pinebelt graduation ceremony. The members who are not serving on the board will remain in an advisory capacity so they can help see the project through to the end.

"We've each made a commitment to remain committed even after the class is finished," she said. "I believe we will. Everybody has been on board with it."

Triplett said he is proud of this Leadership Pinebelt group and excited to see the passion the members have for the project.

"There was another group from the ADP just like this group that started this program back in 2005, but it never took any legs," he said.

Triplett said he has worked with Dixie Youth Baseball for about 36 years, and had heard of the Miracle League but never had the opportunity to get it going in Hattiesburg, so he and Jones reached out to the ADP to see if the young leaders would be able to help.

"It seemed like the time was right," he said.

The Miracle League of Greater Hattiesburg board will begin raising awareness and start a fundraising campaign to fund the field. Triplett said he is proud of the work the Leadership Pinebelt group has done and have committed to doing.

"I think that tells you a lot about the type of people in the leadership program the ADP has," he said. "They want to see it through. Their group — they’re so passionate about this.

"The’ve done an excellent job with it."

Triplett said once the field is operational, the league will have six teams based on age and ability, with hopes of growing that number to 10 or more.

He said it will take time to get it up and running, but "if you know Larry Doleac and the others with Dixie Youth, we’re going to do it up right.

"We've got a good board and we’re excited about it."

Hogan said the supervisors are looking forward to seeing people with special needs served in yet another capacity in the Pine Belt since it already has programs like The Arc of Southeast Mississippi, Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp and more.

"The Pine Belt has a rich history in helping people with special needs," he said. "This will set an example the rest of the country will follow."